The shocks that I took off said Tokico. I put the KYBs on.

 

I have Koni Yellows on my daily (adjustable rebound damping rate). They're kind of in the middle of the road in terms of cost, and may be a little overkill for a normally-driven DD, but I enjoy them with my Tein H-tech springs (for 350Z) for bouts of spirited driving. They're great shocks, I had a set on my 7th gen Accord for many years before I traded for my G sedan.

 

Job finished. I only drove the car to the part store to return unused brake fluid so I can't really comment on the driving experience. My vehicle only has 83k miles (I thought it was 88) and the original shocks were not leaking so its possible they were still in good shape and the difference might not be all that noticeable.

The worst part of the job was the rear shocks. Because the bushings were seized into the knuckles I had to cut them out which was tedious. Getting the new bushings in wasn't all that difficult...

The front wasn't too bad. The driver side was a little more difficult because for what ever reason the mounts didn't line up as well for the brake and abs sensor as they did on the passenger side. They were tilted just a little off. I lined up the spring perch with the bolt and everything fit, it was just a little tighter than I felt comfortable with so I left one of the ABS wire clips off which gave it enough slack.

While I was working on it, I swapped 4 qts of transmission fluid, replaced the pads and rotors and regreased the pins on the rear rotors. The car drives great. Thanks again for everybody's help.

 

I am impressed, clearwaterms.

So, I was able to replace both front struts pretty easily, but could only do one of the rears due to the problem you outlined, bad bushings. My bushing separated from the sleeve as the bolt was rust-welded to the inside of the inner metal sleeve, so when I tried to unscrew it the rubber separated from the outer sleeve. I just left it alone.

I did try the threaded rod technique to remove the old bushing on the side that was still "good" and that I COULD remove the shock from, just to test the method. Of course, I didn't want to destry that bushing so I couldn't score it with a hacksaw, as you did. I also put a C-clamp/balljoint press on that sucker, and bent the clamp.

1. So, after scoring with a hacksaw, you simply hammered out the ring with a socket and hammer?

2. And, using a threaded rod was all it took to get the new one in? How difficult was it to get the new one in, and did you use any other "tricks" you could share? Freezing the bushing first, any lubricants, wet-sanding the mating surfaces and using silicon, etc.?

 

1. On the passenger side I was able to saw a single score line into the outer sleeve and then using a 15/16" socket and a rubber mallet I was able to push it out. On the Driver side I didn't have as much luck so I used 2 score lines and a small hammer with a small screw driver. That did leave a VERY small knick but it doesn't appear to be affecting anything. The new bushing doesn't rotate around inside the knuckle or anything that I have to worry about it.

2. To reinstall the bushing, I used the threaded rod technique exactly like you described. (reference link: http://www.autowerksofamerica.com/ar...ilingBush.html) (link: http://www.superstreetonline.com/how...d-replacement/)

I used a 3/8" threaded rod which accepts 9/16" bolts. That same 15/16" impact socket would hold the rubber section of the bushing and then the largest socket that I own (I think it's 1 1/4") on the other side. I use some thick fender washers on each side. On the reinstall I took a mallet and pushed the bearing in JUST slightly and made sure the threaded rod was all lined up and then simply tightened it until the bushing was located in the middle of the knuckle. The resistance was high enough that it was actually faster to just use a 1/2" wrench.

As an aside, I couldn't get the bolt out on either shock so I ended up just cutting one leg of the shock to get it off.

I hope these instructions help.